Essay About Locations Of The Kings And Overall Picture

Comparison of Banquet and Shi Qiang
Comparison of Banquet and Shi Qiang
The city Cahal of Mesopotamia in modern day South
West Asia, and what is now modern day China, are
locations of the kings that once reigned on high.
Each, like the drastically different locations, had
cultures that were highly contrasting though they both
saw dynasties/empires that lasted many years.
The text, “The Banquet of Ashurnasirpal II” portrays
a warrior king which was chosen from the God above,
Ashur to conquer lands far and wide. It describes how
the king came upon the ruins at Cahal and erected a
lavish castle to fill with all the material goods he
had acquired on his conquests of far away states.
Within his city were people whom he had dispersed from
other city-states which were probably the ones to take
part in the building of temples to the Gods. One can
see how his culture is still close to the land, the
nomadic hunt to kill drive is still in him. The
overall picture that has been painted is one of a king
who is thankful to Ashur, who gave him this power, but
also of one who is very luxurious with gold busts, a
vast garden, and one who can throw a feast for ten
days with over 50,000 in attendance.
On the other side of the continent and spectrum is
the writing for the Western Zhou king in the
“Inscription of the Shi Qiang Pan”. This king as well
is a warring king, but for another reason. Rather than
creating war